Work support attachment for sewing machine tables



NOV. 24, 1953 LAKE 2,660,496

WORK SUPPORT ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINE TABLES Filed Sept. 14, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 //71/e/7f0r Eugene Z'La/re By his afforneys MMM Nov. 24, 1953 E. T. LAKE 2,660,496

WORK SUPPORT ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINE TABLES Filed Sept. 14, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 //7 1/60 for Eugene TLa/(e By his affomeys E. T. LAKE Nov. 24, 1953 WORK SUPPORT ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINE TABLES 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 14, 1949 Patented Nov. 24, 1953 were UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WORK SUPPORT ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINE TABLES 2 Claims.

This invention relates to a work support attachment or trough for a sewing machine table and more particularly to a flexible trough. When sewing goods or garments, operators generally put the part of the cloth which is not being sewn at the moment, in their laps. This is objectionable because the goods sometimes slip to the floor, touch part of the machinery or are damaged by flying oil. Also, after a portion of the goods has been sewn, it sometimes slips to the floor .1

again. Rigid receptacles or troughs in front of the machines have been known heretofore, but devices of this nature are objectionable because they require the operator to sit too far away from the sewing machine.

According to my invention a trough is provided which is resilient in the horizontal dimension so that when the operator has placed the goods in the trough she may lean forward to the same position she would take if she had the goods in her lap, deforming the trough by the pressure of her body. My trough also has limited and adjustable resilience in the vertical dimension so that the goods can also be supported in the trough in about the position .to which the operator is accustomed. These qualities are obtained by my construction of a frame of resilient fiat strip material bent in the form of a how, one side of the frame being attached to the edge of the table and the bag hanging inside the frame.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a sewing table and machine to which one embodiment of my novel trough has been attached, with goods in the trough and the operator using the machine and deforming the frame of the trough by the pressure of her body;

Figure 2 is a perspective view from the front of the table showing the frame of the trough of Fig. 1 attached thereto;

Figure 3 is a View somewhat similar to Fig. 2, showing the bagand apron installed on the frame of the trough;

Figure 4 is a plan view of the trough of Figs. 1 to 3, showing the details of mounting the cover and apron on the frame, the apron being partly broken'away;

Figure 5 is a view in front elevation of the trough of Figs. 1 to 4;

Figure 6 is a view in vertical section across the middle of my trough and table, taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5, but with theapron fastened at the edge of the table;

Figure 7 is a detailed view of one end of the bow of the frame, showing the adjustable fastening means for the end of the bow;

Figure 8 is a detailed view showing the snaps by which the apron is fastened to the table, and the cover to the frame;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of my invention in which the trough is removably mounted at the edge of the table, the bag being shown partly broken away to reveal the construction of the frame;

Figure 10 is a plan view of part of the embodiment of Fig. 9, showing the brackets and clip plates by which the frame is removably attached;

Figure 11 is a view in vertical section through one of the brackets and clip plates of Fig. 10, taken on the line il-ll of that figure, with a modified hem support type of mounting the bag added in dotted lines;

Figure 12 is a view in vertical section through the midpoint of the front of the trough of Fig. 9, taken on the line i2-l2 of Fig. 9, showing the manner in which the bag is attached to the frame; While Figure '13 is a view in vertical section similar to Fig. 12 but showing the preferred or hem support type of bag of Fig. 11.

Referring first to the embodiment of Figs. 1-8, I have shown a wooden table I on which is mounted a typical sewing machine 2. This machine may be driven in any desired manner, though for purposes of illustration I have shown part of a belt. The operator is seated on the longer side of the table, and the trough which I have invented is mounted or fastened at one long edge 3 of the table, between the operator and the machine. If desired, a cushioning tape 35 can be placed along the edge of the table behind the frame of the trough.

The two main elements of my trough are the frame 4 and the bag or cover which is generally indicated by the reference character 5, the bag being suspended on the frame. Formed integrally as part of the bag is an apron 6 which overlies the surface of the table between the operator and the machine. This apron serves to cover any gaps or irregularities which might catch either the goods or the operators fingers. In the drawings I have indicated the goods or garment being worked on by the reference numeral l.

The frame is preferably made in the form of a. bow Whose ends are secured to the edge of the table. The ends of the bows in both of the embodiments shown in the drawings are turned inwardly toward each other. The corners of the frame between the back and the ends at the edge of the table are rather sharp but the two front corners can be rounded off as desired. I prefer 3 to make the frame of flat strip stock, preferably thin spring steel, with the width of the stock held vertically flat against the edge of the table 3. In the embodiment of Figs. 1-8, adjusting screws 8 and holding screws 9 are used to fasten the ends of the bows to the table. The adjusting screws are nearer the ends of the frame or trough, and the holding screws are adjacent each other near the inturned ends of the bow. I provide metal washers l under the head of each screw, as shown in Figs. 4 and 7. In addition, as can be seen in Fig. 7, I provide a rubber washer l I under each adjusting screw 8. This rubber washer acts as resilient means against downward pressure on the trough, as will now be explained. Since the attachment of the frame to the table by these screws is the only mounting which the frame has, it will be seen that the weight of the goods in the trough or any pressure by the operator downwardly on the free front of the frame will cause this free front to droop slightly. This causes a twisting of the fiat metal at or about the adjusting screws 8. This twist is also resisted by the resilient means, i. e., the rubber washers 1|, so that the frame will resume its horizontal position when relieved of all downward drag. The degree of twisting and thus of sag or droop may be adjusted by turning the adjusting screws 8, thus varying the compression of washers i. The rubber washers also stop the rattle of the spring frame against the metal washer on the screw as the machine runs. If desired, the torsional flexibility of the ends of the bow with relation to the adjacent ends of the frame can be increased by cutting away part of the vertical width of the ends of the strips. It will be seen that I have produced a light resilient frame of almost no rigidity in the horizontal plane but of sumcient rigidity in the vertical direction to support the goods at the proper level.

The bag may be of unbleached muslin or any other desired material. It can be cut in the shape of a strip of uniform width corresponding to the width of the frame with an end flap on each side. As shown in Fig. 5, the end flaps when turned up can be made to overlap the center portion of the muslin so as to provide closure at each of the four corners of the frame. In the particular embodiment being described, the bag is formed inside the frame and the upper edge is turned downwardly over the top of the flat strip of the frame on the outside and fastened with snap fasteners l6 (see Figs. 3 and 5).

The apron extends over the top of the frame and then lies on top of the table, extending back toward the sewing machine some distance. Snap fasteners l6 fasten its back edge to the securing tape I 4 on top of the table. It will be seen that in this way the cover is easily removed and washed. If it is not desired to have this apron extend back to the machine, the securing tape M can be placed at the edge of the table. The cover is of such a form that there is no chance of the goods catching on it and the apron prevents pinching the goods or the fingers between the frame and the table itself. As shown in Fig. 6, the apron can be very short and fastened right at the edge of the table. This really fastens the back side of the bag directly to the table top, just covering the edge of the table.

It has been found that a bag made in this manner will sustain a weight of three to ten pounds, with just the proper amount of sag, so that the goods will lie at about the lap of the operator. Nevertheless, the apron is so resilient that the operator can lean forward toward the machine and hardly feel the pressure necessary to compress or deform the trough in the horizontal dimension (see Fig. 1). It has been found that the resilience of the frame serves to keep the trough open slightly, even when compressed or deformed, so that the goods feed up to the machine without any interference. It will also be noted that with the arrangement I have devised, the goods will not fall to the floor even if the operator should leave the machine; nor does the bag interfere with any foot mechanism installed below the table.

The embodiment shown in Figs. 9-12 is the preferred form of my invention. In this embodimerit I have provided for the quick removal and replacement of the trough by a detachable mounting of the frame. In this construction I attach to the frame two angle irons or brackets 18 which cooperate with clip plates 19 fastened on the under side of the table by screws 20 (see Figs. 9, 10 and 11). The brackets have downwardly extending legs 2i which are fastened to the frame by nuts and bolts 25. These vertical legs 2| are unitary with longer horizontal legs which slide in between the clip plates l9 and the under side of the table to which the clip plates are fastened.

Each plate can be of sheet metal with a depression or groove for the bracket leg. Each central depression over which the long leg of each bracket I8 slides contains bosses 23 on the upper face of the bracket adapted to engage holes 22 in the bracket leg. The engagement of these holes and bosses provides a sufficiently tight grip between the clip plate and the brackets and also prevents any vibration of the sewing machine and table from shaking the brackets out of the clip plates. In Fig. 11 the holes 22 have been shown tapered, as by counter-sinking, which will facilitate the insertion and removal of a bracket from its clip plate. It also makes it possible, if at any time it is desired to fasten the trough to the table permanently, to omit the clip plates and fasten the brackets to the table by wood screws.

In Fig. 9 I have shown an extra hole 34 through the frame in order to provide variation in the position of the brackets and clip plates with relation to the ends of the frame. This affects the degree of sag of the trough.

In addition .to the removable mounting just described, the construction of the frame itself is a little different from that shown in Figs. 1-8. While the flat strip stock is still bent in the form of a bow with the ends of the bow turned inwardly, in the construction shown in Figs. 9-12 these ends 3|, 32 are so long that they overlap. They are fastened together by a nut and bolt 39. I provide a stiffener 29 for the frame which is also gripped by the nut and bolt 30 at the middle and extends laterally far enough to be included under the nuts and bolts 24 which hold the bracket l8 to the frame 23 proper. An adhesive can be pro- 7 vided between the stiffener 29 and the ends 31, 32

of the frame 28, if desired. This stiffenin member and the overlapping of the ends 3|, 32 provide a construction which resists sagging of the trough more strongly than the construction shown in Figs. 1-8.

The constructions of bag shown in Figs. 9-13 differ from those of Figs. 1-8. In Figs. 9-13 I show bags of an uncut sheet of plastic or similar material 33. Instead of having an apron to cover the intersection of the frame and the edge of the table, all the upper edge of the bag is secured to the frame. The plastic sheet is formed into darts 01' pleats 35 at the corners of the frame as necessary, thus avoiding any cutting of the sheet. In Figs. 9 and 12 the bag material is carried up on the outside of the frame 28 and then folded down inside nearly to the bottom of the frame (see Fig. 12). The inside fold 25 is fastened to the frame 23 by adhesive 26. Along the inner side of the frame the fabric is gripped between the frame 28 and the legs 2| of the brackets I8 by the bolts and nuts 24 and 30.

The upper edge of the bag can also be formed into a hem to support the bag on the frame. This is shown in Figs. 11 and 13. In this form the bag is carried up on one side of the frameas, for example, the outside-ever the top as before and then down the inside to a position sumciently below the bottom of the frame to allow the descending inside fold 95 to be secured to the ascending part a little below the bottom of the frame. This leaves a hem by which the bag can slide freely on the frame. The inner fold 35 can be secured to the outside by a line of stitching 2'? as shown, adhesive, or by heat-sealing the two pieces together. The hem extends all around the bag. For the purpose of putting this form of bag on the frame or taking it 011, slits can be cut in the hem at desired points along the back edge. To put the bag on the frame the bolts and nuts 29 and 90 are taken 011 and the stiffening bar 29 removed. The frame can then be threaded into the hem from another frame or a jig by sliding it into one of the slits. The frame is flexible enough to permit this operation. By reversing the operation the bag can be removed.

It will be seen that there are three forms of bag-the apron type of Figs. 1-5, the plain bag fastened at the edge of the table as in Fig. 6, and the bag is which all the circumference of the bag is secured to the frame by adhesive or hem.

Considerable variation in the stifiness of the frame can be provided by using stiffeners 29 of different thicknesses.

What I claim is:

1. A work support attachment for a sewing machine table comprising a frame bent in the form of a horizontal how, each end of the bow being fastened to the table at a multiplicity of points, said bow being resilient in the horizontal dimension, and free to deform resiliently toward the table under pressure of the operators body and the fastening means nearest each end of the bow being adjustably resilient, in combination with a bag on the frame to hold the goods being worked on.

2. A work support attachment for a sewing machine table comprising a frame of thin spring steel fiat strip stock bent in the form of a hori zontal bow, the ends of the bow being turned inwardly toward each other and located with the flat side of the material against the edge of the table, said bow being resilient in the horizontal dimension and free to deform resiliently toward the table under pressure of the operators body, in combination with a bag on the frame to hold the goods being worked on, and screws, located at two or more points, for each end of the bow, to hold the ends against the table, the screw nearest each end of the frame having a resilient washer thereon, whereby the amount of twisting of the flat strip stock permitted under the weight of the goods in the bag is adjustable.

EUGENE T. LAKE.

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